Maxwell Ryan, a former teacher, started Apartment Therapy in 2004 with the help of his brother, Oliver, to offer ideas on how people can create their own happy places at home.
He has since added TheKitchn.com, a home cooking site; written four books on design; and helped develop tableware and sofas. He lives with his daughter in an apartment in Brooklyn's Clinton Hill.
Ryan joined the Washington Post's Home Front online chat recently. Here is an edited excerpt.
Q: We're moving to a larger apartment. Although the idea of having more space was great in theory, I'm not sure what to do with a living room that's double the size of my current one. Any tips?
A: Enjoy it. Don't feel the need to fill it, and let yourself experience the roominess of the new space with your light furniture. You probably have plenty of furniture for your new space, and keeping it light will be a great new challenge. Spaces fill with time; it's practically a law of decor physics. I like to underfurnish and leave open space to make decisions as I feel out a space and see creative solutions I wouldn't have without first living in it. I moved into my apartment two years ago, and I'm still figuring out some empty spaces. It's lovely not to feel cluttered.
Q: My partner regularly talks about getting rid of clothes and shoes that she doesn't wear anymore and that are taking up space. Do you have any advice for helping someone start decluttering?
A: This is an age-old problem, particularly in our country, where consumerism and consumption are parts of our culture. I'm a fan of shopping, but I'm also a fan of regularly letting things go. Follow the "Outbox" method. The first step is to remove anything you might want to get rid of and put it in the "Outbox," which can be a physical box or a corner in the room. Remove the object from where it's been living and put it in this new purgatory spot. The secret here is that moving it from its home will release the energy it has on you, which is the main reason it's hard to part with items. After about a week, revisit the box and sort its contents into piles to recycle, give away or put in the garbage. You can then bring items from the box back into your home, but I find that rarely happens. Take the piles to their destinations over the next couple of days, then you're done. Decluttering isn't as much about letting items go as it is about breaking the energy they have in your life. You can manage both issues with this process.
Q: In our small bedroom, there's one solid wall; the others either have a door or a window. How should we arrange furniture in the room?
A: This is typical, and I always say to put the head of your bed against the solid wall. If you're lucky, this will also point your feet toward the door. This arrangement is best for the feng shui/energy of the room, and it will help you rest.
Q: What are some bricks-and-mortar stores for small-space furniture and appliances? My home is 720 square feet, and I need a new refrigerator and stove, but I'm dreading shopping for them, because appliance and furniture manufacturers seem to cater to larger spaces.
A: I'm not familiar with a store that caters only to small spaces in the appliance category, but I can say that most European and Japanese companies have been doing this for a long time. Check out Samsung, LG, Perigold, Smeg and Liebherr. I've found that if you search online for "small" dishwasher and put in your dimensions, you can find what you need.
Q: I rent a 330-square-foot studio apartment in New York City, and I want to regain the space my bed takes up. Installing a Murphy bed isn't an option because I rent. I recently read about a brand of sleeper sofas that have Tempur-Pedic mattresses, but they cost close to $5,000. Are there more affordable sleeper sofas for everyday use?
A: You definitely need a good, compact bed solution, and I would suggest a sofa bed over a Murphy bed, because they take up a lot of vertical room. Today's sofa beds are really good, and a lot of companies make them. American Leather (americanleather.com) makes a sofa bed with the mattress inside, and Room & Board (roomandboard.com) makes great sofa beds with a solid, non-bumpy foam mattress.
Q: What's the best kind of sofa for a small living room?
A: I don't know how small yours is, but I had a very small living room at one point, and I found that the secret wasn't to get a sofa, per se, but more of a daybed. Removing the arms from a sofa also really opens up a room.
Q: What do you suggest for a table in a studio or small one-bedroom apartment?
A: I had to maximize space in my first small apartment. We were two adults and a baby, and I found that round tables were best. I had two really nice chairs at the table and two folding chairs in the closet.
Q: What tips do you have for creating a space to stay focused and motivated while working at home?
A: In whatever space you have, you should be in pretty good shape if you can create a separate, calm workspace that's slightly away, so you can stop work at the end of the day and leave your stuff out, so it's ready for tomorrow. Even a small scrap of wall with a desk against it will do. I have a small workspace in my apartment that I work quite a bit in and I love it. I put a slim Ikea Lisabo desk ($149; ikea.com) against the wall. If you're working many hours at home, invest in a good chair that you like looking at. It's both a health and decor concern, so don't skimp. I love Herman Miller's Embody chair ($1,635; store.hermanmiller.com), which comes in many colors. And try to keep regular hours in your "office." Go for a walk or run in the morning and evening, and drink lots of water.
Q: How can I use color on walls and furniture to make a small condo feel more spacious? It's a place without much sunlight.
A: Dark colors against light colors create contrast and movement, which people enjoy, so alternating between them will create energy in your small space. Try adding dark in the entryway, light in the living room, dark and warm in the kitchen, light in the bedroom and dark in the bathroom. Bright color goes a long way, so use it sparingly. To make a room feel colorful, you only need (at most) 20 percent of the room to be bathed in color; think about one wall, four pillows on a sofa, one rug and pieces of the room that will carry color. It doesn't have to be the whole room. For small spaces, darken the floors and brighten the walls. And don't forget lights; adding three points of easy light in every room will enlarge your space.
Q: Do you prefer having a TV mounted high on a wall or sitting on a stand or entertainment center in the living room? I just moved, and I usually mount them on a wall, but I'm thinking of switching it up; however, I want to maximize the space.
A: I like keeping TVs at eye level, which is usually low if you're sitting on a sofa. I like to put the TV on a console for many reasons, but it tends to look and work better, because grounding the TV makes it feel less like a movie theater.
Q: What advice would you give to two people sharing a studio? Is there a way to create a faux wall or take calls at the same time?
A: This is hard. I've seen colleagues solve this problem by using headphones for work, so the calls are muted and as separate as possible. In a small studio, it's hard to get a wall that will do much.
Q: Where can I find inspiration for my small space? I want to fill my new Manhattan studio with fun pieces that also make it feel spacious.
A: Our annual Small/Cool contest just closed. Go to apartmenttherapy.com/contests/2021-small-cool to see the winners. I get inspiration from this each year, and the contest was created to spread good ideas that usually hide inside people's homes. Other than that, check out Apartment Therapy's Instagram (@apartmenttherapy) for its IGTV series "One Good Thing."
